Summer Beach House Before and After

I have been in Ventura all week, and I thought it might be fun to post some before-and-after photos of our summer Beach House.

Looking back at some of the remodel photos, I find it hard to believe how far we have come. I am still in shock that it is the same house.

Beach House Before and After

I reviewed my photos and found many stages of our remodel to share with you today. Just so you aren’t confused, we bought the Ventura home in 2013 and spent eight weeks doing a minor remodel. We painted and redid the kitchen and bathrooms. We didn’t move any walls, but the house needed and received a refresh.

Then, in 2022, we began a significant renovation that remodeled the entire home. We went from three bedrooms and two baths to five bedrooms and four baths. We also opened the kitchen and family living area and added a third-floor deck.

Summer Beach House Exterior Update

The beach house looks so different! The exterior of the front of our home looks nothing like before, and it has a more modern feel. I am so happy with the new exterior design and finish. It is even better than I imagined.

I had never shared a photo of the front of our beach home before we started this remodel. I wouldn’t say I liked the look, and I knew we would eventually begin the remodel. What I didn’t realize is that the city of Ventura permit approval process would take so long!

The approval process took 17 months, and construction lasted 14 months. It was a big project, and we loved the result.

What do you think?

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The 3rd Floor Deck

We used to have a deck off our primary bedroom on the 2nd floor (see BEFORE photo). It was slightly awkward that we had to walk through our bedroom to get to the deck. It was also small, but we still loved dining on the deck, which had a view of the ocean.

The remodel included adding a new third-floor deck above the new primary bedroom. The deck is my favorite room in the newly remodeled house.

Summer Beach House Interior Update

This is the main living area of our summer beach house.

The first photo is from the first time we visited our future beach house at the open house, and it’s hard to believe it’s the same house. We made a few changes to this room when we moved in, including removing the beams in the ceiling and painting the entire house.

But the house has certainly changed a lot since then.

The biggest change was raising the roof (can you see how the ceiling used to angle toward the window in the 2nd photo)? We also enlarged the ocean-view window. What a difference.

The Summer Beach House Kitchen

So what do you think of our kitchen?

The original kitchen was awful, so I redid it when we closed escrow. I loved my little kitchen for ten years, even though the galley style was hard to entertain (especially since our lab Sport always had to lay in the middle of the floor every time I cooked). We removed a bedroom to open the space, which was fine since we added three new bedrooms elsewhere during the remodel.

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The Primary Bedroom

We reconfigured our bedroom by adding ten feet to the front of our house, which created a gorgeous view in our primary bedroom. The swivel chairs in front of the window are perfect for enjoying the ocean view.

The New Staircase and Third Floor Deck

With the addition of the primary bedroom, we added a third-floor deck directly above. This necessitated a new staircase, and the result was better than I had imagined.

Many of the homes in our area have external staircases to the decks. I wanted an internal staircase so we could access it quickly and hopefully entertain a lot up there. This has become our favorite place to entertain.

The Great Room

I love a great room as it lets me entertain and enjoy our family and friends simultaneously. The raised ceiling creates an entirely different feel in our home. Our boys used to hit their heads on the ceiling on the left side of this room. You can see through the walls to see the old pitch on the roof. I love that it is now more than three feet taller!

Thoughts About the Summer Beach House Update

What surprises me most about this remodel is that our home does not feel like it did before. We touched almost every room, and it felt very different.

Don’t get me wrong; this is not a bad thing. I love everything we did to make this home better suited for our family, and it is the perfect place to escape the hectic life in Los Angeles.

For a while, I was worried the kids might not be okay with all of the changes. But with the additional bedrooms, baths, deck, and even putting green, they love it as much as we do.

They will be in town for the 4th of July, and we cannot wait. It’s going to be so much fun.

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